Its been a rough decade and a half to be a Chicago Fire fan but the 2025 season has given us something we are not use to: HOPE. Here are a couple things that gave me hope for the future of this franchise.
Player Development
Before 2025, the Fire had signed 24 players to homegrown contracts. Sounds great on paper but the number of signees that became true contributors to the first team is much shorter. In the 14 years since the Fire signed their first homegrown (Victor Pineda), I can point to 6 becoming contributors:
With MLS being a salary capped league, getting contributions from your academy is a must if you want to build a sustainable, competitive team over many seasons. Focus tends to stay on Designated Players signings but an MLS season is a long GRIND. You need depth to survive it. All you need to do is look at the team that eliminated the Fire from the playoffs earlier this month for confirmation. This season alone, the Philadelphia Union are getting quality minutes from the same number of homegrown players the Fire have over 14 seasons. All that to say if Berhalter wants to awaken the sleeping giant, he will need to get more production from the Fire Academy. Lucky for us, he has leaned into the academy and made it a priority.
This season, Berhalter started a 16yr old Christopher Cupps at center back and turned to a 19 yr old Sergio Oregel in the midfield for 25 starts. Coming into the season, Oregel had 12 career MLS minutes that came in 2022 and was entering the last guaranteed year of his contract. I wasn’t even sure if he would see the field for the first team this year, playing 0 first team minutes in 2023 and 2024 but he balled out. He earned Berhalter’s trust in pre-season and kept it all season. His play earned him a multi-year contract extension just like fellow HGs Brady and Pineda.
The club also signed 4 more homegrowns this year (including Cupps) and have plenty of quality throughout the academy. This group of 4 includes signing Robert Turdean to the 2nd largest contract for an MLS homegrown after Cavan Sullivan‘s deal. With Guti looking like he will be leaving this winter window, its important to have players that can compete for his spot internally. Gone are the days of signing homegrowns just to see them leave the club after a couple seasons of not seeing the field. This will help the club on the field and in recruitment.
Berhalter Ball
The FO have a clear idea on the type of player they are trying to recruit and a big reason is Gregg knows how he wants to play. The Fire are slowly developing their own style of play, one that will allow Gregg to be more plug and play with his player selections. A style that won’t crumble if 1 player is out of the lineup. A style that has players interested in coming to Chicago. Andre Franco called Chicago about coming here, not the other way around. I’m hoping the days of the Fire having to overpay players to come here are past us.
At the same time, Berhalter has shown the ability to adapt his tactics if the situation/player availability calls for it. He loves his 433 but has played a 343 and switched formations/game plans in the middle of games. It’s nice to feel like you have a shot in a game no matter what. I understand it will take another window or two for Berhalter to have the team he wants but him and his staff have done a great job so far, keeping salary and positional flexibility.
New Home
Besides rumors that Joe Mansueto wanted the club to move into a new stadium within the city limits, there was never anything concrete out there that it could happen. That’s why the announcement that the club were going to build a privately funded stadium just south of the loop was a bit of a shock to everyone. I’ve gotten use to Soldier Field as the Fire’s home but the atmosphere suffers from the cavernous design built for 63k fans. It doesn’t help the Bears are the primary tenant, get their pick of dates and are the clear priority. Another shock was the announcement that everything was approved through the notorious slow moving City Council. 2028 cannot come soon enough.
Fun Stats
- Jonathan Bamba was #2 in “Passes to Assist” with 7. I know his end product left many fans wanting more, but he was still a big part to one of the best attacks in the league.
- Brian Gutierrez was #2 in “Through balls” with 26, Lionel Messi was #1. Guti looks so much more comfortable and effective playing in the middle. I agree that he probably needs to leave MLS to take the next step in his career. We will miss him in Chicago.
- 29 Away Points won in 2025 versus 30 total points last season. Overall, the Fire finished with 54 points. I was hoping for some improvement but this season easily surpassed my expectations.
- 15.5% : the percentage of passes by Chris Brady that went more than 40 yards. He was 2nd to last in MLS. He was in the mid-30s the previous 2 seasons. It was a big adjustment but Brady has stepped up and looks a lot more comfortable playing out the back.
See you at Soldier Field in 2026.